It’s a brand new year!  2012 is going to be wonderful and I know that because I plan on making it that way. 

Many people ask the age old question of “what resolution did you make this year?”  Well resolutions can be a bit deceiving.  Most times we choose the same thing year after year…lose weight, eat healthier, start exercising etc. and then little by little we drop those “resolutions” as they don’t fit into what we really want for ourselves or what we choose to do.

Goals on the other hand are attainable.  These are things that you are sitting down and really thinking about.  Goals are things that we really want to do for ourselves.  The things that we are choosing to do in order to make our lives what we want.

A tip on setting goals is to sit down and on a piece of paper list out all the things you want to accomplish this year.  Then look over the list and choose the things that you really believe you can do this year. 

Once you have that list narrowed down you want to write action steps and dates next to each thing.  That way you are breaking down the goals into manageable baby steps so you don’t get overwhelmed and you are holding yourself accountable with the date. 

If you don’t achieve what you had written down by the date it is ok to extend that date.  The date isn’t written in stone but rather is a date to work toward.  This will keep you moving forward in your goals and you will stay motivated by seeing the accomplishments you have made toward your goal already.

So for 2012 don’t make yet another resolution that you can’t or don’t want to keep. Instead make some goals that you can work toward steadily all year and end this year knowing that you have accomplished what you wanted and being proud of yourself!